How did it come out from the ghetto?
In the early 1950s, music made in the black community began to be valued by white musicians. Some of these white people with a black soul would help spread it on a larger scale and bring it out of the ghetto.
At first, they were a small group of advanced people who were not understood at a time when society was segregated. But their work will be recognized by history. We are talking about Sam Phillips, Alan Freed, Bill Haley, etc.
Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers – Why Do Fools Fall in Love (1956)
Theme composed by Frankie Lymon, Herman Santiago and Jimmy Merchant. It was edited by George Goldner, a white Jew who encouraged young people to cross the racial barrier.
Born in New York’s Harlem and only twelve years old, Franklin Lymon was part of the vocal group The Premiers when a neighbor gave them love letters he received from his girlfriend for inspiration. With her they created one of the best doo wop songs of all time. Given their youth, the DJs started calling them The Teenagers, a name they eventually adopted. Unfortunately, Lymon died at the age of twenty-five from an overdose in the bathroom at his grandmother’s.
How deep is it?
The first sounds of rock and roll coincide with the appearance of a new social group, previously ignored. It is the collective of young people, who identify with these new music that represents everything they desire.
Although they are rebuked by the most conservative and puritanical sectors of society, the fuse is lit and nothing will stop an explosion that will change forever the values and ways of humanity as a whole.
Little Richard – Lucille (1957)
Song composed by Albert Collins and Little Richard. Played with passion and frenzy, it was another of the rock and roll classics that influenced the budding youth of the 1950s.
Lucille’s story dates back to January 1957, when Richard Penniman (Little Richard’s real name) was impressed by the sound of a train upon its arrival at Macon Station, Georgia. He thought it might be a good musical basis for creating a song. That same night he met a drag queen who called herself Queen Sonya and although Penniman has never given any hints, she could have been called Lucille. So, by putting the two together, he created a song with a woman’s name and as energetic as a train.
How does it affect the music?
Rock and roll is bursting into the American popular music market like a raging storm. There is an intersection of currents, black and white, which affects all levels: public, artists, record companies, etc.
At first, versions of black market hits are made, now adapted to the taste of the majority white audience. But in a short time, this same public opts for the original versions and performers.
Wanda Jackson – Let’s Have a Party (1958)
Version of a song written by Jessie Mae Robinson, in 1957, for Elvis Presley. She is one of those artists who became known thanks to the strong implantation of rock and roll.
Wanda Lavonne Jackson was born in Maud, Oklahoma, in 1937. As a high school student, she met Elvis Presley who was pleasantly surprised and encouraged her towards country and gospel music. She would soon develop an explosive voice style that allowed her to work on a variety of genres, from traditional folk songs to suggestive ballads. Considered the first female rock and roll singer, Wanda Jackson, turned to rockabilly and signed to Decca Records. She achieved great and continuous success in Europe, Asia and Australia.
